{"id":54258,"date":"2026-09-16T14:06:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T14:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/formassista.fr\/?p=54258"},"modified":"2026-09-16T17:34:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T17:34:40","slug":"etude-nationale-assistante-independante-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/formassista.fr\/en\/etude-nationale-assistante-independante-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The real face of independent assistants in France: our 2026 national study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How many clients does an independent assistant<\/strong> have? Through which channels does she find them? What difficulties does she really face? Until now, no one could answer with figures: the profession appears in no official statistics. Our 2026 national study, conducted among 57 working independent assistants across France, provides the first measured benchmarks on this profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you already work in the field, you’ve surely asked yourself the question: am I within the norm, or off to the side? And if you’re preparing to launch, you’re navigating between glossy promises on Instagram and discouraging forums, never quite knowing where reality lies. It is precisely to fill this gap that we launched this survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, you’ll find the study’s full methodology, four freely available findings, and the detailed table of contents of the summary document. If the profession appeals to you but you’re starting from scratch, begin with our guide how to become an independent assistant<\/a>: it sets out the general framework that this study now puts numbers to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why a national study on the independent assistant profession<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Because this profession is statistically invisible. There is no dedicated business activity code, no INSEE panel, no industry observatory: every woman who launches into it does so with no reliable benchmark, relying on isolated testimonials or on whatever social media chooses to show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This invisibility comes at a real cost. How do you set a rate without knowing what the market is actually charging? How do you choose your prospecting channels without knowing which ones work for others? How do you normalize your difficulties when you don’t know whether others share them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2020, we have been training and supporting independent secretaries and assistants at Formassista. We had a feel for the field, passed on by our trainers who practice the profession every day. What we lacked was the data. In May 2026, we decided to produce it, and to share it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Comparaison
A profession highly visible online, invisible in the statistics: social media promises versus the absence of official data<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How the study was conducted<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The survey was conducted in May 2026 among 57 independent assistants working in mainland France, all active at the time of the questionnaire. About twenty questions covered six areas: clients, acquisition channels, services and business models, difficulties encountered, profiles and career paths, and working hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We prefer to say it ourselves: 57 respondents is not a nationally representative survey in the sense of the major polling institutes. It is, however, the broadest snapshot ever published on this profession, gathered from women who actually practice it, rather than self-reported intentions. Every figure in the study is presented with its exact sample size, so you can judge for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The questionnaire did not stop at averages. Responses were cross-analyzed against one another: seniority, status, services, contract formats, rates. These cross-analyses are what deliver the most useful insights, and you’ll see below why we’re reserving them for the full document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Methodology of the 2026 national study in 4 steps: questionnaire in May 2026, 57 working respondents, 20 questions across 6 areas, cross-analysis<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Four freely available findings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are four results from the study, published in full. They are enough to correct several misconceptions about the independent assistant profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A profession young in independence, mature in experience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

67% of respondents have been working independently for less than 4 years. But 72% had at least 5 years of salaried experience as an assistant<\/strong> before launching out on their own. In other words, the move to independence isn’t a break: it builds on an already solid professional foundation, often after more than ten years in the profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This double figure changes the usual career-change narrative. Becoming an independent assistant isn’t starting from zero: it’s deploying a long-proven skill in a new setting. If you’re hesitating to launch out of fear of not being legitimate enough, this result is worth reading twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly two-thirds started with no training<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

63% of respondents started with no specific training whatsoever:<\/strong> neither training in the profession itself, nor in starting a business. This is probably the most striking figure in the entire study. Nearly two-thirds of working independent assistants found their way by trial and error when they started out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study doesn’t claim this choice dooms a business \u2014 proof being that they are in business today. What it does document is what starting out with no benchmarks produces in terms of early-year trial and error, and the summary document devotes one of its three final strategic questions to exactly this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Word of mouth outweighs every other channel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Word of mouth is both the leading real acquisition channel (52% of respondents find their clients through referrals) and the channel judged most effective (46%). No other channel comes close. Most surprising of all: social media, so prominent in the discourse, accounts for only 5% of actual acquisition. And a website combined with SEO collects zero responses for perceived effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spending hours wondering what to post on Instagram? These figures suggest looking elsewhere: a satisfied client’s recommendation carries more weight than months of posts. Our networking strategies<\/a> build on this same logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n